Many information devices (e.g., computers, smartphones, smart TVs, tablet computers) provide a capability to enable a first information device to communicate with another information device and move a task from one device to another. For example, a user can start browsing a web page on a smartphone and pick up the same link on a tablet or a laptop computer. However, conventional systems that transfer web browser state information are essentially limited to transmitting a URL of the current browsing webpage. Although a user may be able to continue browsing the same website, key information of the browser state are missing. By way of example, scroll position is lost. The user must start from the beginning of the webpage and scroll to the same location on the webpage at which he or she paused when initiating the transfer to another device. Also, session information is lost. For example, user may be forced to re-enter a username and a password if the webpage is a secure one. Alternatively, the user may be forced to restart a shopping process from the beginning. Also, form data is not preserved, so the user must re-enter all input data if the user stopped in the middle of the filling-in the form on the first device.
This problem is further complicated by the fact that information devices use many different screen sizes. Even if a second device loads the same webpage as a first device, the layout of the webpage content on the second device may be significantly different from the first (original) device. Scrolling to the same relative position of the viewport rectangle does not guarantee the same content shows in the view. Another problem is the content of the webpage itself. If the two devices differ significantly, the same URL may retrieve different web content (e.g., mobile vs. desktop version) of the same web site.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for an improved apparatus and method for transfer web browser information from a first information device to a second information device. In particular, there is a need for an apparatus and method for transferring scroll position and form content between browser-capable processing systems.